Giants to host 2028 MLB All-Star Game, with LA Olympics a key factor

Justice delos Santos, The Mercury News on Aug 14, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SAN FRANCISCO — The Bay Area has hosted numerous premium sports events over the last year and a half, from the NBA All-Star Game to the Super Bowl to the World Cup. Now, the Midsummer Classic is officially coming back to the Bay.

Major League Baseball announced Friday morning that the Giants will be hosting the 2028 MLB All-Star Game, the first time they’ve hosted the event since 2007 and the fourth time the Giants have hosted since moving to San Francisco. The first two were Candlestick Park in 1961 and 1984.

“Hosting the All-Star Game is more than celebrating the game’s brightest stars; it’s a chance to highlight the people, neighborhoods, and culture that make our community so special,” Giants president and CEO Larry Baer said in a statement. “Few cities offer the unique combination of sports, culture, innovation, entertainment, and natural beauty that defines San Francisco. We look forward to welcoming players, families, fans, and visitors from around the world for a week that will create lasting memories and have a meaningful impact throughout our region.”

Along with the main event, Oracle Park and the city of San Francisco will also host the Home Run Derby, the Futures Game, a red carpet show and the amateur draft. Infamously, not a single player hit a home run into McCovey Cove during the 2007 Home Run Derby, a disappointment considering the showcase featured left-handed sluggers Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard and Justin Morneau.

The American League defeated the National League, 5-4, on July 10, 2007, at what was then called AT&T Park, the most memorable play of the exhibition being Ichiro Suzuki’s inside-the-park home run off Chris Young thanks to an odd carom off the right-center field wall. Suzuki, who went 3 for 3 with two RBIs, was named All-Star Game MVP.

With the 2028 All-Star Game set for San Francisco, it appears likely that major leaguers will be allowed to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics that same year, which will take place in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. MLB has not yet announced a decision, though, on whether its players will be allowed to play in the Games.

“In general, our players want to play in the Olympics. They’re patriotic, and for them it’s a special opportunity, and we want them to have that opportunity,” Bruce Meyer, the interim executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, said in July. “Having said that, we want to make sure that they have things like travel and accommodations, and things that they deserve based on who they are.”

The Olympic baseball tournament will include six teams. Three teams — the United States, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela — are already set. The highest-placed team in Asia and the highest-placed team from Europe/Oceania in the 2027 WBSC Premier12 tournament will account for two other spots. The last spot will go to the highest-placed team from the WBSC Baseball Final Qualification Event.

Other franchises have been waiting longer than the Giants for the event to return to their home stadiums, the list including the Toronto Blue Jays (1991) and Boston Red Sox (1999). The Giants’ proximity to Los Angeles, though, effectively allowed them to skip ahead.

“I want to thank Commissioner Manfred and Major League Baseball for recognizing the work we’ve done in San Francisco and bringing this incredible event to our city,” San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie said. “I also want to thank the Giants for their partnership throughout this process and their continued commitment to San Francisco. I’m looking forward to working with them and our community partners to once again deliver a world-class event and show off what makes San Francisco so special.”